Jeff Hardy Details Family Reason For 2021 WWE Departure

It's no secret that the last few years have been a bit of a struggle for Jeff Hardy. The former WWE Champion left the promotion in late 2021 under a cloud of controversy, after he wandered out into the crowd during a match. Then shortly after signing with AEW in 2022, Hardy was arrested for DUI, an arrest that ultimately torpedoed both his and brother Matt Hardy's run with the promotion. Now back in TNA with his brother, and holding TNA Tag Team Championship gold again, Hardy has a clearer head regarding everything that went down during that time.

In an appearance on "Insight with Chris Van Vliet," Hardy got candid about the struggles he was going through throughout 2021 and 2022, especially when it came to alcohol. He revealed that his drinking largely got worse as he attempted to cope with the failing health of his father, who passed away on April 6, 2021.

"When I left WWE in 2021, my dad had been real sick," Hardy said. "2017, right after we went back to WWE at Mania, that was probably around the time that he felt good for the last time before he slipped back into this dark depression. But yeah, I'd been taking care of him, and it was just bad to where he did not want to be here. He was ready to go. Our mom died at a young age, I was 10 when she passed away. So I've always told myself when he needs me, I'm going to take care of him. I just did everything I could to get him excited about life and all that stuff.So that's definitely when my drinking got carried away during those times that I've never really talked about."

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "Insight with Chris Van Vliet" and provide an h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription